Pecan Festival gives nod to Elvis this year

For more than 20 years, the Alabama Pecan Festival has won fans with its mix of food, fun and music at a price point (free) that makes it especially appealing.

The 22nd annual festival takes place this weekend in Tillman’s Corner, and all those attractions are firmly in place, starting with the pies. Thousands will be sold; best to get there early if you haven’t already ordered.

There’s a full lineup of concessions and arts & crafts vendors, plus a carnival midway for those who’d like to ride. Patrons should note that while admission, parking, browsing and listening to the music are free, the rides aren’t.

As usual, the focus is on classic country music on Friday and Saturday, with a full slate of gospel music on Sunday.

One of this year’s special highlights is a Saturday-evening performance by Don Hinton, who has probably a unique claim to fame in that he likely is the world’s only Elvis tribute singer who can boast being signed to Sun Records.

Singles such as “Jo Ann” and “Honey Bee” never took him to the heights of Sun artists such as Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, but they put him in a unique position to pay tribute to their historic record label — which is exactly what he’ll be doing on Saturday.

“We’ve got together a pretty good show for this thing,” Hinton said. “It’s basically an Elvis-type Vegas show. ... It’s nostalgic. And on top of being nostalgic, it’s exciting.”

He’s a little nostalgic himself, he said.

“I was the kid back in those days,” Hinton said. “And now I’m definitely the grown-up.”

He thinks the music of the Sun era continues to have a broad appeal, so he’s hoping for a diverse crowd, he said.

“The young ones will see something new to them,” he said, “and the old ones will be nostalgic.”